The Best Self-Defense Everyone Walks Away Except the Bad Guy

Katherine WhiteOne with Heart Program Coordinator

When I teach self-defense I often say “the best self-defense is to never know what could have happened, because it didn’t.” Even better, here is a story (see article below) about a group of women who knew exactly what could have happened, and it didn’t – and the bad guy is looking at some real jail time. [i]

At One with Heart we provide women with information about sexual assault, encourage them to trust their gut and take immediate action when something doesn’t look or feel right. If a woman interrupts an offender’s approach immediately, she may never be entirely sure what was on his mind, but she walks away and is safe. And the truth is, the person she walks away from is not likely to be a stranger, it is more likely to be someone she knows.

A lot of us find it hard to believe that someone we know, like a best friend, could intend to hurt us. In fact, 82 percent of the time the offender is a partner, close friend, relative, or acquaintance. A lot of us also find it hard to believe that terrible things can happen in upscale places.

Luckily the women in this story weren’t fooled by the myths about sexual assault. Despite what looked like a romantic dinner in posh surroundings, they saw something wasn’t right, spoke up, took immediate action - and changed the course of a stranger’s life. And, the woman who was targeted was so calm and strategic that she detained the offender until the police arrived and arrested him. Now that is powerful self-defense!